Greek Wine Tasting – Thursday 24th May 2018

Taking place at the Borough Market Cookhouse, our very own Marianna teams up with wine connoisseur Maria Moutsou, for a two-hour wine tasting workshop!

During the workshop you will get to taste the most important varieties of the iconic Santorini island. Ancient volcano eruptions have created the volcanic soil for grape vines. It is this volcanic soil that maintained the old vines that give wines of superior quality.

This workshop is ideal for those of us who want to learn about wine, focusing on the indigenous varieties of Santorini. We will leave with a good understanding of the key varieties and the uniqueness of the climate and terroir of the island.

During the workshop we will get to taste a wide range of wines from these celebrated Greek grapes, accompanied with delicious food pairings (yes, there will be Greek cheese!). Take a journey through Santorini island over multiple glasses of wine and join us for another Greek hospitality feast! Can you think of a better way to spend your Thursday evening? We can’t!

Maria has become familiar with wine at early age, coming from a family of “domestic winemakers”, as called in Greece, private vineyard owners and makers of wine with no commercial interest but for the use of family and friends. The family used to pay much attention in the making and taking true pride during the consumption of that wine, yet without a trade notion attached to it. Wine was invariably present at meals, as part of a healthy and balanced diet.

Maria’s interest in wine grew stronger as she started tasting more sophisticated examples and learned about the world wine scene, international grape varieties and winemaking from the scientific point of view. She attended the WSET (Wine & Spirits Educational Trust) program and obtained the WSET Advanced qualification (with Merit) in 2015. Since 2012 she has been researching the Greek vineyard, the longest living vineyard in Europe, being convinced that the Greek terroir is unique (as only few others) and feeling a great sense of connection with the people tending the vineyards and having the vision to produce beautiful yet different wines and with a narrative. She established an import company in 2014, Southern Wine Roads and brought a good number of quality producers in the UK Market. She has organized numerous tastings on Greek wine in the UK for wine societies, customers and private groups and has received great feedback both from experts, as well as her audience.

“What Maria does not know about Greek wine is probably not worth knowing” Anthony Rose MW, The Wine Gang

“Moutsou’ s list is full of wines and varieties you will never have heard of, from both the mainland and the islands, including obscure wines made by small producers from Lesbos, Samos, Zakynthos and Kefalonia among the mix” Justin Keay, Wine Writer, The Buyer

“Maria and hosts of the evening were a delight to spend an evening with. I walked home inspired, happy and having learnt more about wines. Earthy, warm, spirited company I can highly recommend”. Sabine Maurer

“Maria is a knowledgeable and excellent host and chooses fantastic Greek wines which are as well made as they are exciting. The food pairings are sublime too. A great evening!” Lauren Denyer, WSET Dip

Dietary requirements:

Our menus are seasonal and change often. If you have specific dietary requirements please contact us before booking to ensure our menu can accommodate your needs.

All dietary requirements need to be confirmed at least two weeks prior to the workshop. As our menus are finalised after that, we will do our best but cannot guarantee that we can accommodate any dietary requirements less than two weeks prior to the workshop.

Our workshops are hosted at Borough Market cookhouse. As this is a shared kitchen space we cannot guarantee an allergy-free environment.

Cancellation policy:

In case you have to cancel or change your booking, we would need a minimum of four weeks’ notice. In that case we will refund you for the full amount or transfer your booking to another date.

If you have to cancel or change your booking less than four weeks in advance then we will unfortunately not be able to refund or change your booking. You can of course offer your space to a friend, ensuring you have informed us of any dietary requirements as soon as possible, so as to make sure we can accommodate them.

If we have to cancel a workshop, then we will offer you a full refund or if you prefer we will transfer your amount to one of our other workshops.